Huge black snake...I forgot about the time, long ago, a large black snake did get into the old pigeon loft. One morning I saw a dead pigeon on the floor, it's head looked odd, like it was wet. When I looked closer, the neck seemed stretched & the dead pigeon's head, neck right up to where wings began, was...slimed? I was freaked out, what happened, then it hit me, something tried to swallow this bird & suffocated it. Sure enough I searched & found a large snake coiled up napping in a corner. That was my old coop & he slithered right in between the wire pen outside! (This was before I switched to half inch space welded wire). Took that fat thing for a long one-way relocation ride, too. The pigeon he smothered was a sweet special needs boy, a little simple minded but friendly as can be. I was so Ticked Off.
Very good. Last year we had A LOT! we pickled several jars worth of scapes!
Yes, rats will bite. But I don’t think combs are the usual first place, but no experience with them.All the roosters in my bachelor pen have bite marks on their combs. Even the one who is separated by fencing from the others. There's some rat feces around the pen too... Wondering if the rats are attacking my roos?
1/2 HWC mouse catcher
The mice around my coops are living underneath them and/or coming through the coop door in the daytime.Huge black snake...I forgot about the time, long ago, a large black snake did get into the old pigeon loft. One morning I saw a dead pigeon on the floor, it's head looked odd, like it was wet. When I looked closer, the neck seemed stretched & the dead pigeon's head, neck right up to where wings began, was...slimed? I was freaked out, what happened, then it hit me, something tried to swallow this bird & suffocated it. Sure enough I searched & found a large snake coiled up napping in a corner. That was my old coop & he slithered right in between the wire pen outside! (This was before I switched to half inch space welded wire). Took that fat thing for a long one-way relocation ride, too. The pigeon he smothered was a sweet special needs boy, a little simple minded but friendly as can be. I was so Ticked Off.
About mice...I had a bad mouse infestation once. As soon as I changed the pens to the 1/2" welded wire, no more mice came in. I caught the rest with the battery traps that zap, & zapped 34 of them. No mice since then. No snakes in the pigeon loft or coop or pens either. That small hole welded wire is great. I realize rodents can gnaw through wood if they really want to get in. I try not to let any feed be available. That works for pigeons as they eat what they need but chickens need to peck all day long. Their feed is in feeders inside the coop. So far, I've been very lucky. Mice or rats are nasty critters. The foxes hunt them & I see them pouncing & catching various mice, moles & voles, so I hope they keep up with rodent patrol. So far so good.
Hello, I got inspired by this lady, she has another video on how to maintain a sour dough starter. An important point of this video is to use unbleached flour. The bad comments I see under the starter culture on amazon is probably due to the flour they used. Easy Peezy
It's on my bucket list, this is something I must try.
